I was hoping this would be a lot better than number 3 but boy was I wrong! - I will list the plus and minus below starting with the plus -

1) Decent graphics
2) The normal characters are good, movesets are ok
3) The apprentice is an awesome character
4) Music and SE are good

Now the bad -

1) The bonus characters are rubbish - why don't they have move sets of their own? It's a waste of time using them.
2) The story mode is pathetic - over in about 10 mins and wretchedly easy! The arcade mode is also poor as you don't get the chance to use anything but the standard weapons, don't unlock anything and don't even get an ending!
3) Remember the excellent quest modes from earlier soul caliburs? This one does not have one, instead you get the dire tower mode where you unlock bits of clothing for customisation instead of extra weapons, characters and stages.
4) The customisation mode is rubbish! What is the point of spending ages creating a unique character that only ends up fighting like one of the standard ones? A lot of the game focuses on this mode (the tower, winning gold ect) and its crap - and to think they replaced the quest mode for this!
5) Darth Vader is not quite the hard man in this game is he? Compared to the apprentice he is rubbish.
6) Despite not minding the star wars angle the attempt to insert them into the soul calibur storyline is stupid and could have been done without.
7) Why do you have to create a custom character (or another version of the standard) just to equip another weapon? This is a total pain!
8) You can still spam this game, even on the hardest levels the combat balance is not very good - switching out the block button for a back press (like other fighting games) is one improvement I would recommend.
9) Character unlocks are stupidly easy - you just buy them! Where is the challenge in that!

I would advise everyone to avoid this game. The quest mode saved the earlier soul caliburs and added tons of longevity to the game - without it despite the graphics and the star wars characters this is a very weak game.
Don't be taken in by the emphasis on the customisation - unless you want to spend ages making characters and putting them on the internet, that is - this is a fighting game not an RPG.
They could have stripped all of that rubbish out and had a solid quest mode, extra characters that fight differently from the standard ones, a decent story and arcade mode - the list goes on.
It seems Namco have totally lost the plot after Soul Calibur 2, such a shame as this could have been a great game.

no words can describe soul calibur, if you never had a dreamcast you probably never enjoyed the best fighting game ever, this is a top notch game, ok there could be some fine tuning like the online mode but come on guys, it should always be part of your collection because you will keep playing it alone or with friends, be patient learn the moves and you're hooked for life.

Not just the best fighter on PS3, but the best one this gen.
More depth than your average fighter with plenty of single and multiplayer modes.
Graphics are top notch, just what you want from a new fighter, sound is also powerful with proper clashes and hits.
Masses of characters to choose from (and Darth Vader isnt that bad either!).
If your thinking of buying it, get it, you wont be dissapointed.

This game is incredible! The people that are saying wait for Teken 6 are so wrong!! This game couldn't really be any better if they had tried! The graphics are in a different league to most games!! the game play is smooth and the online play even smoother!!
also people are saying only good if your a serious gamer, well I'm not a serious gamer and i really enjoyed it! This was my first fighting game in years and i found it easy to play!
The enjoyment never ends!!
I also love the 'create character' option it is brilliant, again easy to handle and great fun!!
I would recommend this to anybody!! You won't regret it!!
As my title say's, simply breathtaking!!! It really is that good!
A real must buy!!

I'm not really a big fan of fighting games but i rented this out just to see if i'd like it, gotta say its pretty good, nice smooth fighting and some great weapons, got some really smart special moves and all the other stuff that comes with a fighting game! Even though I like the game, I have to say i dont really get the whole Star Wars thing, it just dosent seem to fit in, it's like you can play Darth Vadar in like a medieval setting and fighting some old dude, it just dosent work, and on another down side its way to short, overall its a great fighter but wont blow you away!

With Darth Vader available to play has that extra appeal for a limited time that is. Very nice to play and fight with friends otherwise can get a bit of a bore

-Online play is smooth and hassle-free
-Plenty of different characters, plus you can make your own
-Gameplay is accessible for newcomers and has plenty of depth for veterans
-Tower of Lost Souls mode offers plenty of single-player challenge
-Looks great.

The only bad thing that the storyline isn't long(very short), it takes about 15-20 mins to complete with a chracter at the max, considering what difficulty you choose.

Gave it 5 stars because its got near enough everything you want in a fighting game. In my opinion best fighting game for next gen consoles so far. ALSO use the triggers free with the ps3 version cause I think they really help.

I have been a Soul Calibur fan for a very long time, ever since Soul Blade on the PS1. This game is great, the intro as you would expect from any Soul series game is put together very well. The fighting engine is pretty much flawless and there's quite a lot of unlockable content. Oh and of course the addition of Darth Vader isn't bad either ;)

There are however some disappointments, story mode is very short. 5 stages and 2 cut scenes just doesn't do it for me I'm afraid and it is sometimes very difficult to find a match online due to bad netcode. Sometimes whenever you join a match it says 'session is full'. This is something I expect will be fixed via downloadable content though.

Let's recap:

Pros:

Great fighting engine.
Graphics, characters and weapons look great.
Lots of unlockable content.
Create a character.
Good Intro.
Darth Vader.

Cons:

Poor online netcode.
Story mode is very very short.

Overall it's a great game I think, I still anticipate Tekken 6 to take the crown of best beat 'em up on the PS3 but if nothing else this will keep you entertained until then :)

this is the best fighting game ever released. but this only counts if you're using all aspects of the game. If you're not playing online or not trying to create your own character then it's a 3 star game at best. But if you're using everything the game offers then you will love it, especially if you're a fan of the previous games or a fan of tekken, mortal combat, street fighter etc

If you like REALLY short storylines.
each character plays the same story and you can complete the game within 2 hours easy if your a fan of the series.
gameplays good and has alot to offer in the way of unlockables but if i were you i'd save myself £40 and wait for TEKKEN 6.